


Our World Is Worth Fighting For

by Alpha (TheDiamondAuthorityDidIt)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Universe, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 06:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11961771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDiamondAuthorityDidIt/pseuds/Alpha
Summary: Mei recollects her past, and talks about the murderer inside her that no one knows about.





	Our World Is Worth Fighting For

Contrary to belief, I am not always that optimistic Chinese girl everyone knows.

 

They see what I put on the outside. Only I understand what is kept inside.

 

The Eco-Watchpoint at Antarctica was the largest turning point of my life. I knew it the moment I was assigned there. Being stationed at Antarctica would allow me to help the Earth, just as I had promised to myself all these years ago, when I was a little girl. Before I became a climatologist. Before I joined Overwatch.

 

My team-to-be had not expected this, and reacted very poorly.

 

I heard them whispering when they thought I could not hear. They were not insults, mind you; they were merely their comments of concern for me.

 

_That poor little girl, what was Overwatch thinking, she won’t last a day out in this cold._

 

_Tell her to stay here when you still have the chance. She shouldn’t have to do this._

 

Captain Opara had expressed these concerns, but I was determined to go to Antarctica. No one should hold me back. I would show them, I told myself. I’d show them all I am more than capable of merely surviving. I would exceed their expectations, no matter how hard I pushed myself.

 

I was on my way to doing so, when a polar storm struck.

 

One more catastrophic than most of the ones I had read about during my research. Within the first week, it had destroyed our ways of transportation and left us with snow piled higher than I could reach. We were trapped, with a considerable amount of rations. If we didn’t eat much, we could survive for a little longer without needing to use our ultimate backup plan.

 

Of course, I was thinking on the scale of one person. There were six of us. How dumb of me.

 

Snowball was then born. I mean, Opara gave me a bunch of scrap but usable materials just so I had something to do, and having studied engineering before, I decided to make Snowball. Snowball would make up for the happiness and all the comfort that I didn’t receive from my teammates.

 

I could see my teammates glaring at me as I talked on and on to motivate the five of them. I recognized the confusion and defeat on their faces as they watched me. All but Opara, and, of course, Snowball. Opara seemed to appreciate my cheerfulness, and that was enough.

 

At least I was making a difference. Only on one of my teammates, sure, but it was enough for me. It was a start. My other teammates would maybe, just maybe, change later.

 

Rations dwindled down, and even Opara began looking a little upset, even though he tried to smile at me like nothing was wrong. I was not the ignorant child my team saw me as. I expected it when he announced we would have to attempt cryostasis.

 

My team, as expected, just stared when I smiled at the news and squealed “哦! 我们会活下去的!” Afterwards, I realized that not only was the word choice was not proper, but also I could tell that at least one of them knew what I had said, seeing that my statement required very minimal knowledge in Mandarin to understand. Not to mention I had just implied that I thought we were going to die. One of them narrowed his eyes at me; another squinted at me to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Snowball made a face mirroring my happiness, but I knew I had overdone it. Before I knew it, I was sprinting away, ashamed and embarrassed.

 

I will never forget their reactions. I think it was the last time we gathered together before our entering of cryostasis.

 

Success at cryostasis was completely unheard of, which explained the constant grumbles of frustration from the rest of my teammates, but I continued spouting out positivity like a teapot with endless amounts of water.

 

Lining up to go into the pods had been the most affection I had received from my entire team. Captain Opara thanked me in front of everyone, and after his speech to me was over, I was greeted with a sea of warm smiles. All of my teammates thanked me, one by one. I was given the hugs I desired and I gave a speech of my own. For once, my determination and optimism was well-received for once.

 

I smiled as sleep began to overtake me. Boy, would I be happy to see them again after we woke up.

 

* * *

 

 

Little did I know, or even consider, that not all of us would make it. I had not even considered survival as a necessity. I was just so happy that finally my team appreciated me and didn’t seem to look at me like an inexperienced teenage child. I had forgotten all about the the odds of us surviving; if we succeeded, it would be a first. No one had ever done it before.

 

It hadn’t occurred to me at all when I woke up. It was a weird situation; I assumed they would have woken up before me, yet I took took everyone’s mugs from the cabinet to pour them tea. My mind was fuzzy at the time; I guess that’s what nine years sleeping in a pod does to you. I was wobbly on my feet and I was extremely dizzy.

 

Then Snowball told me we had slept for nine years _straight_ , and I tried to process it. Nine years, cooped up in a safe _capsule_ , while Overwatch and the rest of the world were counting on their research. Nine whole years of sitting there, ignorant of the new dangers that emerged.

 

I couldn’t think clearly until I saw the two words “Overwatch Disbanded”.

 

Everything I had worked for, _gone._ Just _gone._ Nine years surviving in order to transport our valuable research, _gone_.

 

No one but the Overwatch agents knew that we were stranded in Antarctica, but now Overwatch was disbanded, how could anyone save us…

 

Us?

 

Stumbling my way back to the room I had woke up in, I surveyed the pods quickly. Ignoring the cold, I leaned up against Opara’s pod and used my hand to turn the pod monitor on.

 

MALFUNCTION

 

Shocked, I looked around at the pods. Turning on the monitor for Opara’s pod had apparently awakened the rest of them, and they all began lighting up, but they all said the same in big red font.

 

MALFUNCTION MALFUNCTION MALFUNCTION MALFUNCTION

 

Tears streamed from my eyes like faucets. I broke down in front of the pods, with Snowball my only source of comfort. How could I have not realized that this was a possibility? My elation had made me so ignorant. The teammates I had worked with for so long were gone. Maybe they didn’t like me that much, but I loved them. It’s what you tend to feel towards people when being stranded in Antarctica with them isn’t it?

 

I made a tool with a hairdryer that could literally shoot ice. Most call it a gun, which is what I use it as nowadays, since I doubt I’ll be trying to fix another satellite dish in the middle of Antarctica any time soon. I may not have been able to fix the dish itself, but I managed to get enough signal to receive Winston’s video. A message about disbanding Overwatch, and… recalling it.

 

An entire decade passed since we attempted cryostasis. Ten whole years until someone came to rescue us. They found the Watchpoint and found Snowball and I, doing our best to navigate the icy terrain of Antarctica. It was a miracle that we were able to get help at all.

 

Winston helped me improve my gun, leaving it mostly the same, seeing that the hairdryer worked quite well. He made it more sturdy, knowing that I didn’t have much time to worry about that back in Antarctica. When I saw him, he attacked me with a hug and commented “Just as cheerful as always, Mei!”

 

He was wrong. Partially. Of course, I still acted all optimistic, since everyone seemed to like it that way. The people who know my story tend to ask me how the loss of so many friends, whom I consider family, hasn’t impacted me. I tell them that life moves on, and they would want us to move on, but the truth is, I truly haven’t. My heart has been shattered, and something just broke inside me. When I motivate others, I don’t feel as happy doing it anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love making other people happy, and that’s why I keep up my cheerful act. However, melancholy now governs the internal part of me, the part that no one else sees.

 

After getting caught up with the news, I found myself frustrated at the omnics who started the first Omnic Crisis and the people all around the world trying to start up war again, including those who protested against Overwatch. I finger the trigger of my gun more and more often when I see them on the news as international heroes. Overwatch had real heroes. Those so-called heroes on the news were the true criminals. There are many times, when Snowball was out of batteries, I would go practice my aim with my gun. I began to realize that I was starting to have the thoughts of a murderer, but I didn’t mind.

 

The people who forced Overwatch to disband had to pay for what they did.

 

My emotions were a mess. I did end up injuring some people pretty badly, namely those who protested against Overwatch. The old Mei crumbled as the new Mei rose up.

 

Overwatch was gone, anyway. No one needed to know who I was now. Overwatch was gone, and no one was there to protect Earth anymore.

 

I was willing to try to fulfill that role, by any means. Even if that meant shooting icicles through people’s heads.

 

After all, our world is worth fighting for.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I thought originally this would be shorter. My original idea was to make an evil Mei fanfiction, knowing that everyone says Mei is Satan and all that crap, but I really think Mei is just a misunderstood cutie but now I feel like evil Mei is the greatest thing ever so I might make that fanfic anyway... but yeah enjoy this crap and possibly see you in that crappy fanfic that'll start in some time idk yet


End file.
